The ferry St Thomas of Aquinas got engine failure and full blackout on route between Manila and Iloilo City in Philippines. The ferry got serious problem in the propulsion system and main engine, which caused power down and the ship left drifting in Iloilo Strait. On board of the vessel there were 561 passengers, who were safety evacuated from the coast guard. The crew dropped anchor to prevent the ship from drifting in the heavy sea and large waves. The coast guard and the port authorities started making a plan for towing of the ship to the harbor, where the vessel will be repaired and maintained.

The bulk carrier Suledrott ran aground off Averoy, Norway. The ship was operating on route from Haugesund to Averoy, when stuck rocks and ran aground off the Norway coast. The crew was not able to refloat the ship with own power in the beginning, but after the high tide the full astern engine power released the ship. The bulk carrier Suledrott continued the voyage to Averoy on own power, where will be inspected and repaired if needed. There are no serious damages of the hull and no holes, but in spite of the this the repair will be needed. During the accident on board of the bulk carrier there were 5 crew member, who were not injured.

Fire started in the engine room of the general cargo ship Maria S. The accident happened while the vessel was berthed in the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The fire started in the engine room due to technical malfunction in one of the diesel generators. The firefighters from the shore supported the crew and the fire was under control after about 1 hour. There are no injured people during the firefighting, but the damages of the ship’s engine room were sufficient and the general cargo ship Maria S should stay for repair and inspection. The local authorities started investigations about the reason of the accident.

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Comments Off on Crew of general cargo ship New Lucky 3 was evacuated due to dangerous list

The general cargo ship New Lucky 3 got dangerous list to starboard during operations to China on 35 nautical miles off Bali, Taiwan. The accident happened in bad weather and large waves, which most probably caused cargo shifting in the holds. The officers of the cargo ship sent a distress signal to the Taiwan Coast Guard and rescue operation was organized. On the scene of the accident arrived a helicopter and rescue ship, which took 16 crew members. During the rescue operations, the master of the cargo ship New Lucky 3 fell over board and went missing. All other crew members were taken to the shore without any serious injuries. The search and rescue operations for the missing captain are still in progress, but the bad weather highly disturb them. The general cargo ship New Lucky 3 is drifting without control and heavy list to starboard and causes danger for the nearby vessels.

The large crude carrier BM Bonanza (IMO: 9337391) joined the fleet of Ofer Group yesterday, when Sanko and the Israeli holding signed contract for acquisition. The price of the deal was 25,000,000 USD and the ship will join to the fleet of the new owners next month. Israeli company Ofer Group is one of the largest shipowners in the country and the new vessel will expand its fleet in crude carrying and oil transport. The cargo ship BM Bonanza has deadweight of 105,614 DWT and gross tonnage of 56,172 GRT. The length of the vessel is 239.00 m, the beam is 42.00 m and the maximum draft is 8.20 m. The ship was built in 2007 by Sumitomo Heavy Industries in their shipyard in Yokosuka, Japan.

The UK company Zodiac Maritime Agen­cies Ltd added one more chemical tanker into its fleet. The company bought Bow Europe from the Japanese shipowner Iino Marine Services for the price of 18,000,000 USD. The deal was completed yesterday and the new chemical tanker will join the fleet of Zodiac during the next month. The company is planning to expand its fleet, because of the new contracts signed last months. Currently the company has total 14 chemical tankers, which has capacity for carrying of 301,802 cubic meters of cargo. Zodiac Maritime Agen­cies Ltd is one of the leaders in ship management in Europe and has plans to grow the fleet even more by acquisition of used cargo ships.

Knightsbridge Tankers Limited announced that the sale of two VLCC was completed and the vessel Hampstead and Titan Venus will be delivered to the new owners in the fourth quarter of 2012. The company has serious financial problems, because of the financial crisis and bad conditions in the maritime transport sector. The sale of the two crude carriers will stabilize the company will we save them from bankruptcy. The both ships have bareboat charter, which expires in the end of the year and after this will join to the new fleets. The prices of the deal was not announced, but the money will be used for investment in new smaller and more modern vessel, as part from the company’s intention to renew and grow its fleet. This is anly the first step from renovation of the Knightsbridge Tankers Limited’s vessels,as the next wave of ships for sale will be in next three year, when are expiring the charters of the other supertankers.

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Comments Off on Fishing ship Amaltal Columbia is drifting on fire in New Zealand

The fishing ship Amaltal Columbia caught fire 45 nautical miles off Lyttelton, New Zealand. On board of the vessel there were 45 crew members, who were immediately evacuated to a liferaft and later taken into a Coastguard’s rescue boat. The fire on board started from the meal hold, because of technical malfuction in the cooling system. The officers closed the cargo hold and tried to extinguish the fire by interrupting the access of oxygen, but without any success. All the crew abandoned the ship and two tugs headed to the vessel trying to extinguish the fire. The main engine is also affected and might defected during the accident. The fishing ship Amaltal Columbia is now drifting with 7.5 knots to New Zealand coast and two tugs are performing salvage operations but the big swell and the strong wind are delaying it.

The fire on board of the container ship Amsterdam Bridge was extinguished and the danger was completely removed. Two tugs were engaged with firefighting of the burning cargo hold of the vessel, but according to the Coastguard the fire was completely extinguished and only a smoke is coming out of the burning containers. Several experts boarded the vessel was inspected the damages of the containers. Totally 7 containers were burning and the affected ones were 26. However, after opening all the affected containers from the fire, was notices that there is no damage of the cargo of most of them and the harms were small. The local authorities experts will also board the container ship Amsterdam Bridge to ensure that it will not cause any danger for the port and most probably will enter in the port of Mumbai in next few days.

The fishing ship Sarah Jayne capsized and sank 2.5 nautical miles off Brixham, United Kingdom. The vessel was trawling in English Channel, when the nets hung and the ship god heavy list. The capsize was immediate and one of the crew members was not able to escape from the trap of the sinking ship. The other two crew members of the vessel Sarah Jayne were rescued from the Brixham Coastguard. The search and rescue operations still continue, as one fast boat is engaged with perambulation of the region. Also all the vessel passing through the English Channel are warned to look for the missing crew member of the fishing trawler.